As a child and a teenager, I wasn’t very keen on cooking. I thought of myself as “above” that in some way. I excelled at math and science and planned to have an important job and leave the cooking to other people. Truthfully, I never felt drawn to the homemaking arts at all, and I considered myself to be not very good at them. I lived in my head and had little time for wiping down counters, unloading dishwashers, or helping get dinner on the table. It all seemed unimportant and uninspiring. It’s funny how much things have changed for me. Though I did graduate with a…

Did you know that tight points in your muscles (trigger points) could be the cause of your menstrual cramp pain? Today, I’m giving you my best self care techniques to help you be free of pain during your periods! These techniques give me relief almost immediately and a few times working on them can even last through several cycles! I’d love to hear from you if you try it. Did you find it easy to find the points? Did you notice a difference? Note: There’s one correction on the video. When I go to the floor, the first step is to warm up the whole abdominal area. Then, I work the abdominal…

I love to read. And – an odd little secret about me – I love to read out loud. I started reading my textbooks and literature out loud in middle and high school, when my baby sister (10 years younger) would happily sit and listen. I soon realized I remembered everything so much better when I read out loud and that it was way more fun than just zipping through it in my head.

Last week, we talked about how a healthy circadian rhythm is key to mental and emotional well-being. I gave you several strategies for how to create a morning ritual that will set your wake-up time and result in benefits like increased energy, better digestion, improved mental clarity, and reduced mood swings throughout the day. There is one morning practice that I left off of the list on purpose.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression are one way that our bodies and minds “speak” to us to tell us when something is wrong or “off.” The first thing to do when these symptoms arise is to stop and listen. What is your body trying to say to you?

Dairy is a favorite food for many people – it might even be the most difficult food for many of us to consider giving up. Like gluten, it’s a comfort food that has emotional connections for us, too. Many people tense up and dismiss the idea completely when considering giving up their evening bowl of ice cream.

Cutting out gluten has gotten downright trendy lately. I’m sure you know at least a few people by now who’ve given up gluten without being diagnosed with Celiac disease (the autoimmune condition triggered by consumption of gluten). Wherever you do your grocery shopping, you are likely seeing an increase in the number of “gluten-free” products. And, even products that seem completely unrelated to gluten (like popcorn and cheese) are starting to bear the “gluten-free” label.

I struggle often with the price of health in today’s world. In a country where our soil is depleted, chemicals are all around us, and most of us no longer grow our own food, eating a healthy diet is undeniably expensive. If you cut out common allergens or choose a healing diet for a period of time, the price tag climbs even higher. Add to that care from natural practitioners not covered by insurance and herbs and supplements to promote healing, and you’ve soared out of most people’s price range.

I am excited to be offering some mini-webinars this week via the new Facebook live-streaming option. We’re going to be doing all sorts of things together over the course of the week – from talking about the inner workings of our bodies to making lunch together! And, don’t worry if you can’t make it live, the video recordings will be available to you immediately after they air.